Crate



Patented July 23, 1935 UNITED STATES PATET OFFICE CRATE Henry A. Keiner, Richmond Hill, N. Y. assignor t Keiner Williams Stamping Co., Richmoml Hlll, N. Y., a. oorporation of New York Application December 30, 1933 Serial N0. 704,629

Claims. (GI. 21719) 'Ihis invention relates to crates, especially milk bottle crates, ancl it has for i'bs object to provide a strong and substantial crate which can be repaired easily and. ab comparatively W oosc when 5 damaged in the manner in which crates of this kind are generally damaged in commercial use.

Bottle crates are usually made with the sicles and ends composed of a pluralicy of boards, the joints between the boards of the sicles being 10 matohed or staggered with respect 130 the joints between the boarcls of the encls. These crates are provided wioh means for supporting ancl separating the bottles and these means may oe of many difierent kinols. It has been customary heretofore 130 reenforceand proteot the corners of the crates wlth outside and inside angle members and With stacking members, and these members are macle and arrangecl in many clifierent ways. The top board of each enol is provided With a cut-out 170 form a handle which considerably reduces Ehe strength of these top boards.

The crates are quite heavy when filled and they are handled more or less roughly anal are subjected to consideralole strain and abuse. Some- 5 times, they are dragged along by the use of hooks engaged with the top end boards of the crate, or With the top side boarols and sometimes the crates are carriecl on conveyors which engage one er more of the bottom boards during the washing,

fillingand delivery'operations.

These and other conditions to Which the crates are subjected result in clamage t0 the top and bottom boards requiring replacement of the damaged boarcls and this sometimes costs.as much in some crate structures aslzhe producti0n of a new crate because it involves disassembling the damaged crate and oben reassembling the crate With replaoement boards and other parts.

I1: is the object cf my invention to provide a crave which is protected at -the corners as much 01 substantially as mueh as lt is protected in commercial crates and. still enable the crate to be repaired by replacing damagecl. boards without the necessity of disassembling the entire crate er of removing more than the particular board requiring replaoement.

And a further object of the invention is 130 protect the boards ab the top and bomsom ofthe crate and ab the corners thereof in a novel manner which will permit the replacement of one top or bottom board. without disturbing the other top or bottom boards.

I have illustrated the invention in a crate in the accompanying drawing which has been se- 55 lected for this purpose only and. ls ngt tobeconsidered. as'a limiting embodiment of the invention, am]. referring thereto Fig. 1 is aperspective view of a crate embodyfing the invention' and havin'g one o'utside angle member broken awa)y; 5

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary elevation of an upper corner of 1:he crate wlth the outsi de angle member broken away;

Fig. 3 is a detailtop view of one corner of the crate; 10

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 4- 015 Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of one end of one top memb'er of the'crate, and illustrating also a bottom member in reversed position; 15

Figs. 6-9 are detail sectional views showing moclified. forzns of the inventlon; and

Fig 10 is an elevation of a top end member partly brken awa3r and. in section 'illustrating another f0rm of the in'vention.

Referring to the drawing, the erate comprises top end. boarols flll, top siole boards H and COI'I9- sponding botcom looa1ds. The bottom boards are made and protected, preferably, in the same manner as the top boards 0f the crate ancl need. not 25 be separately described. The top end boards ifl are cut out at ll@ a0 p1oviole handles or band holes for the crace.

Outside angle members 52 and. inside angle memloers 83 0f suitable construction are fastened 30 the orale a1: the corners thereof by rivecs I4 01' other suitable devices. In the form of crate illustrated. these angle members extend substantially from the top the bottom of the crate anal siackihg menibers 95 are fastened to the insicle 35 angle members ab the top,thereof. Protective angle strips l 6, preferably made of band iron, are securecl to the top corners of the top boarcls, and similarly 300 ohe loottom corneis of the bottom boards, by drive screws l! extending through the 5 horizontal exposed. parts of the protective strips into the outer exposecl top edges of the boards. The upright parts of the protectlve angle strips on the end boarcls abut the side boards of the crate and the upright parts of the protective angle strips on1the sicle b'oarcls of the crate ahnt the outside angle members I2 and therefore the upright parts of the proteetive' angle strips Will be substanti'allj concealed. and. always he1d in place 50 so that they need not be fastenecl, laut they may be fastenedto the ends of the boards by nails I8. For the reasons stated. the nails may loe on1itted. iff desired and other fastening means may be substituted for the drive screws ll. The boards 55 are preferably 1ecessed at I9, Figs. 5, 9, to accommodate the protective angle strips.

In Fig. 6, the free end of the upright member of the protective angle strip is inturned ancl engaged with a slot in the looard as indicated at i2, Fig. 6, to assist in retaining the protective anale strip in place; and in Fig. 7 both ends 2l and 22 of be protective strip are engaged. in slots in the board. to retain the st1'ip thereon; but in both cases I prefer to employ the fastening screws er some other fastening clevice. In Fig. 8, the protective strip 23 encloses the entire end. of the board. and. is fastened. in place by a drive screw I'l and a nail I8, or other fastening means. The ends 24 of the strip 23 are preferably inturned and engagecl With slots in the opposing edges of the board. In Flgs. 1-8, the protective strip extends along the edge of the top orbottomboardand along the end thereof, laut in Fig. 9 the protective strip 25 extends transversely over the edge and along the sicles of tl1e board. at the end. thereof and is fastened by rives 25'. In Fig. 10, the protective strip extencls along both ends, tlie top edge and partly along the bottom edge of Ehe board and is secured in place by drive screws 25 and nails 27, or other fastening means.

The invention provides a simple, strong, easily appliecl ancl substantial protection and reenforcement for the top and bottom b0ards ab the corners of tl1e crate. These strips procect the boards at the corners of the crace against wear and. they also reenforce the boarcls a1: the corne1s 01 the crate against splitting. f a wp er botcom board. is damaged and. requires replacement it is only necessary .knock ouo the rivets 01' oizlner devices fastening the outside and inside angle members and the stacking members that particular board and replace the board and the fastening devices. 'Ihls does not involve any other disassembling of the crate nor any skewing or displacement of any o1 the other boards of the crate, and. it may be made in comparatively little time and als 10W cost. 'Ihe top and bottom boards are the boards which most generally are damaged and require replacement, as hereinbefore stated, but sometimes inside boards are damaged and require replaeement and in that case lt will be necessary '00 remove the top or bottom boarcls as well as the damaged inside board repair ehe crate. This, however, does not require any other disassembling of the crate than is indicated and. the only real difilculty involved is removing the necessary rivets or other fastening devices whicn is a difficulty easily overcome by those familiar with this class of work. 'I'he proteccive angle strips are preferably applied to ehe top and bottom side and end. boards but this may be varied as conditions perrnit o1 require. 'Ihe fact that these strips are fastened. to the boards and not 130 the angle members or the stacking members, and the further fast that the boards are not othervrise united except through the outside and inside members and. stacking members and their fastening devices, facilitates the repair and replaeement of the top and bottom boards because very little mechanical work is required to accomplish this replacementand the protective strips 011 a damagecl board may be used. on other boards 01 other boards may be already provided. Witl1 protective strips 150 permit a quick replacemen1; cf damaged boards. In the form of the invention illustrated. in the lrawing it would only be necessary to remove tvvo riveos from the rear end top board 130 replace that board, and this is true also of the other top am]. bottom boards.

I have shown the invention in simple embodiments in the accompanying drawing but I do not mean thereby t0 restrict the adaptation of the invention to these particular embodiments; on l1e conurary I realize that there are many different Kinds and constructions of crates for milk bottles anal other bottles and I reserve the right to emloody my invention in any crates for which lt is or may be adapted and to make such changes therein as may be necessary or desirable for this or other purposes within the scope of the following claims:

l. A crate having a corner formecl by two adjacent boards, and means securing the boards together, the end of one board. abutting the end portion of the seeond board, ab least one of said boards having an angle strip applied to the outer corner thereof, said angle strip being of a Width snbstantially equal to the thickness 0f said. board, seid board. having the end and unter edge thereof recessed to receive said. angle strip whereby the respective parts 01' saicl angle strip are flush with tl1e onter edge and end of the board, and means secu1ing saicl angle strip 130 said board.

2. A crate having a corner formed by twoadj acent boards, and means securing the boards togetner, the end o1 one of the boards abutting a side of the second. board, at least one of said boards having an angle strip applied. 110 the outer corner thereof, said angle strip comprising a lengi;h of strap metal bent to pr0vide parts extending substantially at a right angle to each other, one fiat part of the angle strip belng confined to and abutting the exposed outer edge of alle board and the other fiat part of said angle strip extending over and being confined to the adjacent end of the board, and means holding said strip in place on the board.

3. A crate having a corner formed. by two ad.- jacent boards, and. means securing the boards together, the end 015 one of the boards abutting the end portion of the second board, at least one of saicl boards having an angle strip applied to the outer corner thereof, one flat part of the angle sbrip being confined to anal abutting the exposed outer edge of the boarcl and the other flat part of said angle strip extending over and. being confined 130 the adjacent end. of the board, said board having the end ancl outer edge thereof recessed to receive said angle strip whereby the respective parts of said angle strip are fiush with the unter eclge and end o1 tne board, saicl board having a slot therein extending transversely of one 0f said edges at the end of the recess in said edge, an inturned. end on the part of said strip mounted in said recess, said inturnecl end being disposed. in said slot, and means securing said strip to said boarcl.

4. A crate having a corner formed by two adjacent boards, the end of one of the boards abutting a side of the second. board an outside angle member, an inside angle member, means passing through said. outside angle member, said boards and said inside angle member to secure said boards 110 sald angle members, at least one 0f said boarols having an angle strip applied to the outer corner thereof, said angle strip comprising a length of strap metal bent to provicle parts extending substantially ab a 1ight angle to each other, one fiat part of the angle strip being C011- fined. to and abutting the exposed outer edge of the boarcl and tne other flat part of said angle strip extending over and bei'ng confined to the adjacent end of the board, and means holding said strip in platze on said. board, the means securing sa'1d boards 110 said outside am]. inside angle members being displaceable to permit rep1acement of said board.s when required.

5. A crate having a corner formed by two adjacent boards, and. means securing the boards together, the end of one of the boards abutting a.

side 015 the other board, an upper corner 01: ab least one of said. boards being recessed in surfaces normal to each other, an angle strip comprising a, length of strap metal ha.ving angularly extending parts seated in said recesses, and. means holding sa.id strip in platze on the board. HENRY A. KEINER. 

